Free Republic

FORT SMITH, Ark. — A plan by Air Force officials would remove the A-10 aircraft mission from the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith next year and possibly replace it with one involving remotely piloted aircraft. The proposal released by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz on Friday would give the 188th Fighter Wing an MQ-1/9 Remote Split Operations Squadron that would be made up of unmanned aerial vehicles commonly referred to as drones. The MQ-1 and MQ-9 wouldn't be assigned to the base, only a ground control operation station from which the unmanned aircraft are operated. [snip]...

[snip] Air Force Secretary Michael Donley met Tuesday with Michigan Reps. Candice Miller and Tim Walberg, who concerned about losing the A-10 mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. “Secretary Donley indicated that the Obama Administration is not open to making any alterations to their proposed cuts and all of the cuts outlined last week will be included in the budget the President plans to send to Congress next week,” the two Republicans said in a joint statement. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, left a Thursday meeting with Donley still frustrated with the Pentagon’s plans for the Iowa National Guard’s 132nd...

n his New York Times bestselling book, Throw Them All Out, Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer revealed how members of Congress enrich themselves and their relatives using earmarks and insider information. Now, the Washington Post, following in Schweizer’s footsteps, has conducted a study that found 16 members of Congress have used their power of the purse to benefit companies, colleges, and community groups tied to their relatives. *snip* Among those cited in the Washington Post report were the following (below):

Twenty-One Republican Candidates Take Steps Toward ‘Young Gun' Status Washington- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) today announced its newest round of ‘On the Radar' candidates. By reaching the second step of the four-step ‘Young Guns' program, these Republican candidates have reached the fundamental benchmarks to place them on the road to victory. Now, these 21 candidates are ready to take on the Democrat establishment and return fiscal sanity to Washington. "These candidates have worked hard to meet the benchmarks that have been laid out before them and are determined to hold Washington Democrats accountable this November," said NRCC Chairman...

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman is charged with extortion in an alleged plot to get Discovery Communications Inc. to cancel the TLC show "19 Kids and Counting" or pay her $10,000 in exchange for not revealing compromising photos of a cast member, according to federal court documents. Teresa Hunt, of Bettendorf, is accused of threatening to release photos of a cast member in "apparently intimate situations" to a magazine. Hunt was arrested Feb. 1 after she apparently sent television executives typed and handwritten letters demanding the show be canceled, along with a business card for "Perfect Pictures." The...

The first time he was asked about a proposed increase in the severance tax on natural gas, Gov. Mike Beebe was lukewarm in his support. Last October, he said he probably would vote for it, but not campaign for it. His temperature on the idea is cooling — with good reason. The governor sees potential new natural gas exploration in southern Arkansas on the horizon and doesn't want to scare away investments that just as easily could go to other states. Arkansas' best interest is always on Beebe's mind. That has made him an even better governor than most people...

He kidnapped his ex-wife (who is married to Huckabee's cousin now) and their three children after killing her husband. Drove to his parents house close to here and left the kids. Cops chased him down and he shot & killed ex-wife before cops killed him. BTW, he killed his brother in 1991 because he asked him to turn tv down so he could sleep.

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON FROM 520 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER... THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF DYERSBURG TENNESSEE TO 25 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF GREENVILLE MISSISSIPPI. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5). REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND...

Congressional support for controversial online piracy legislation eroded dramatically on Wednesday in the face of an unprecedented online protest supported by tech titans such as Google, Wikipedia and Facebook. Several key senators withdrew their support from the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA), including Tea Party favorite Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), an elected member of his party's leadership. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who leads the Senate GOP's campaign team, said the legislation should be put on hold, while Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a sponsor and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, retreated from the...

Thanks to the efforts of Catholic Charities, Arkansas Advocates for Families & Children, the ACLU, and other "undocumented" immigrant groups, several private sector jobs were created and healthcare was provided for the poor! According to Cherith Beck, The Public Information Office for the US. Attorney's Office for East Arkansas, at least 5 of the people involved are here illegally or to use the politically correct term "undocumented immigrant". Only 1 has been mentioned by the media. Other members of this business are here on immigrant visas processed by the system that is supposed process millions of "undocumented people" if a...

<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Police in central Arkansas say an 18-year-old woman was shot and wounded when she was caught in the crossfire after she got into an argument at the city's Martin Luther King Day parade.</p> <p>"I called the police because I got scared you know," said witness Martha Fuentes.</p>

Magnolia-area residents took a close look at Southwestern Energy's Fayetteville Shale operations in Faulkner County on Wednesday. *BREAK* The interest in SWN stems from the company's involvement with oil exploration in the Lower Smackover Brown Dense, a rock formation under South Arkansas and North Louisiana. Southwestern Energy has just begun drilling the second of a dozen test wells into the Brown Dense to learn if marketable amounts of oil can be produced. Southwestern Energy is the largest driller of natural gas wells in the Fayetteville Shale of North Central Arkansas. It plans to use the same rock fracturing and horizontal...

BEEBE, Ark – Blackbirds raining from the sky for the second New Year running over the town of Beebe, Ark. was more likely a criminal rather than a supernatural phenomenon. The authorities in the small US town said Sunday the 200 or so dead birds littering the streets -- exactly a year after 4,000 plummeted to the ground sparking a media frenzy and apocalyptic prophesies -- were targeted. In a statement, Genny Porter from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said, "We know that there was evidence of fireworks set off in the middle of the roost, and it wasn't...

Now comes citizen Newt, clear of voice, deepened in his determination to tackle an issue that is basically his alone to tout; because unlike his leading rival Romney who can not get his arms around something that he can’t take two different positions on; Newt is the real solid constitutional deal. Iowa is not the only state where this should be stirring some turbulent political waters. Conservatives in states like South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan, as well as other GOP political king making states, should be taking careful notes. Core values issues like preserving life, a...

Dem Keystone support creates tougher fight for Reid, ObamaBy Alexander Bolton - 12/16/11 04:08 PM ET Republicans want to jam Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on the Keystone oil sands pipeline and the Democratic leader will have a tough time resisting, given support within his caucus for the project. GOP leaders have made clear to Reid that they will not approve an extension of the payroll tax holiday unless it includes language to speed up construction of the pipeline. Senate Republicans estimate as many as 14 Senate Democrats support the project. Labor unions have also voiced strong backing, complicating...

An Arkansas man who was sentenced to death for the murder of a 17-year-old boy has had his conviction overturned after a juror tweeted about pending deliberations--and the poor quality of courthouse coffee.

When the Civil War ended, and after Republican President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, Democrats initiated Jim Crow laws to keep the black man down. Democrats didn’t much like blacks. In fact, the KKK, as you know, was founded as the the terrorist wing of the Democrat Party. Setting the Record Straight A group of black activists led by Wayne Perryman has filed a brief against the Democrat Party for its long history of racism and discrimination of the black community.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A rare November snowfall powdered parts of the U.S. Southeast late Monday and early Tuesday, with as much as eight inches falling on one Arkansas town and some schools closed in Tennessee. Snowfall extended through the mid-Mississippi and Tennessee valleys and as far south as Haleyville, Alabama, said AccuWeather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. Parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi reported between one and three inches of snow, and more flurries were forecast on Tuesday. "It was a surprise to see it this early." said Lesley Hobbs, membership director for the Chamber of Commerce in Paragould,...

Former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Sunday became the latest pundit to concede that while Mitt Romney may not be the perfect candidate, conservatives should prepare to support him as their nominee. As Ben Smith reported, when Huckabee was asked Sunday by 77WABC New York "Investigative Radio" host Aaron Klein to comment on whether the tea party will sit out the 2012 election if former Massachusetts Gov. Romney is the Republican nominee, Huckabee responded with the following: It would be real tragic if they stayed out because Mitt Romney may not be their first choice, but...

Remember in 2008 when Barack Obama promised to restore the perception of America abroad? On hand at a Walmart near Little Rock, Arkansas today were throngs of Black Friday shoppers hell-bent on keeping that image tarnished, thank you very much. Walmart put a mini waffle maker on sale for 2 dollars. As WBTV news notes, the mini waffle iron makes only 2 waffles at a time, but the store carries a larger 4-at-a-time version at a much higher price per waffle. With supply limited and demand for said waffle iron apparently sky-high, the crowd launched headlong into that great American...

In their zeal to bash Wal-Mart, Occupy Wall Street protesters are even complaining about the company giving $1.4 billion to found a free art museum in Arkansas. Alice Walton, Wal-Mart heiress, is being criticized by Occupy Wall Street for giving $1.4 billion to found an Arkansas art museum. The incoherent and absurd messaging of the Occupy Wall Street movement continues. Recently, the OWS crowd joined forces with Wal-Mart workers to protest Crystal Bridges, an American art museum that opened on Nov. 11 in Bentonville, Ark. Art snobs are outraged by the notion of a major art collection in Arkansas, but...

Democrat criticizes Obama for '4,200 pages' of pending regulations By Joshua Altman - 11/22/11 12:29 PM ET Former Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) attacked the Obama administration Tuesday for proposing a litany of new regulations she says are hurting the economy. "You’ve got 4,200 pages of pending, new regulations to be put on the books that just create huge uncertainty,” Lincoln said. Lincoln lost her reelection bid last year to Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and is now chairwoman of the Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations campaign at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The former two-term senator said in...

LITTLE ROCK — As election season gears up in Arkansas, candidates are bringing out their big guns — literally, in some cases. The one campaign issue in Arkansas that tends to unite even the fiercest political rivals is support for gun rights, which is seen as a key credentialing tool for office-seekers at all levels in the Natural State. Tom Cotton Last week, 4th District congressional candidate Beth Ann Rankin announced on a radio show and in a campaign news release that she was “a proud gun owner” and the new holder of a permit to carry a concealed weapon....

(CNN) -- University of Arkansas authorities say they see no "suspicious circumstances" surrounding the death of a 19-year-old football player who was was found dead in his room Sunday. Garrett Uekman, a sophomore tight end for the Razorbacks, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his room about 11:15 a.m., the university said in a written statement Sunday afternoon. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly after noon. A roommate last saw Uekman playing video games about an hour earlier, "and he appeared to be in good health," the university said. An...

The long-awaited opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum for American Art in Walton's home town of Bentonville, Arkansas, has provoked mixed reactions. Some have celebrated the unveiling of a significant new private art institution, but many have criticised the decision to spend $1.4bn of company and family foundation money as the retail colossus cuts back its workers' benefits. Protesters at the museum have informally joined forces with the Occupy Wall Street camps across the US and point to growing ties between the Occupy movement and established trade unions.Walton, at 62 the youngest of Walmart founder Sam Walton's four children, started...

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigators at the scene of a plane crash that killed OSU women's basketball coach Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna and OSU alumni and boosters Olin and Paula Branstetter. An OSU spokesperson says it appears Olin Branstetter was piloting the plane when it crashed Thursday around 4 p.m. in Perry County, Arkansas, about 30 miles northwest of Little Rock. A hunter spotted the single-engine, four-seat Piper PA-28 Cherokee as it went down and called 911. It's not known yet what caused the plane to crash. The plane involved in Thursday's deadly Oklahoma State...

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State University women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna were killed when the single-engine plane they were riding in during a recruiting trip crashed near a wildlife management area in central Arkansas. The university said the pair died in the crash Thursday night near Perryville, about 45 miles west of Little Rock. The Winona Wildlife Management Area is in steep terrain in the eastern Ouachita Mountains. A cause of the crash was not announced. In January 2001, 10 men affiliated with the university's men's basketball team died in a Colorado plane crash. OSU...

BHP Billiton plans to invest roughly US $4.5 billion developing the shale oil and gas assets it bought in the U.S. this financial year as it ramps up production, the head of the mining company's petroleum division said Monday. BHP expects capital spending to jump to almost US $6 billion in the 2015 fiscal year and roughly US $6.5 billion by 2020 as the company ramps up the number of rigs on its four project areas, Michael Yeager said in a conference call from Melbourne. BHP spent almost US $17 billion this year buying Petrohawk Energy Corp. along with its...

<p>A new report claims that Republican presidential contender Herman Cain voted for Democrat Bill Clinton for president in his first run, as well as for two Nebraska Democratic candidates in the past.</p> <p>In a story on the Nebraska Watchdog website, Joe Jordan writes that Mr. Cain supported Mr.Clinton during his 1992 presidential bid, 17 months before he squared off with Mr. Clinton over his push to overhaul the national health care system.</p>

When it comes to sex, the media apply different standards to Republicans and Democrats. Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton allegedly trolled for women, using state troopers as his procurers. As president, Clinton engaged in oral sex with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office. He lied about it under oath and was impeached, though later acquitted by the U.S. Senate. Other sexual accusations tainted Clinton, including one that he raped one Juanita Broaddrick. That "everybody lies about sex" and "it was just sex" and didn't affect his public responsibilities, were just two of the exculpatory statements from Clinton's Democratic defenders. James Carville...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl9y3SIPt7o&feature=youtu.be&t=58s This video needs to go viral. It's very tough to watch though.

Whirlpool Corp , the world's largest appliance maker, slashed its full-year profit forecast and said it would cut about 10 percent of its workforce in North America and Europe, to protect margins in a weak economic environment. The maker of Maytag and KitchenAid appliances will cut more than 5,000 positions and said it would close down its plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and reduce its overall manufacturing capacity by about 6 million units.

Sources tell 40/29 News that Whirlpool will be closing its Fort Smith plant sometime in mid-2012. The factory employed 4,600 in 2006. The company said that all Fort Smith production will shift to existing plants in the U.S. and Mexico "to leverage the resources and excess capacity at those facilities."

Gene Lyons' column Wednesday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette will be his last. He was notified of the end of some 18 years of weekly column writing on Monday by editorial page editor Paul Greenberg. Greenberg cited budget concerns, Lyon said. The savings from ending Lyons' once-a-week column will be offset, however, by expenses for the daily newspaper's new arrangement with John Brummett, who goes on the payroll as an independent contractor after his current employment with Stephens Media ends Oct. 20. The D-G earlier had dropped Pat Lynch as a weekly column contributor. Brummett is to write three columns a...

This just posted on Occupy Arkansas Facebook page by Paul Timmer: "Raymond...were all meeting at the Democratic Party headquarters of Arkansas in front of the capitol....the Union leaders and democratic chairmen have been up all night making food, tent donations, sleeping bags at Academy sports, and making the signs they want us to hold. Make sure to go pick them up!" Interesting, huh? What are some ironic or telling quotes from Occupy facebook pages going on in your area? Post here!

G.I. TomTom Cotton runs for Congress in Arkansas. On Aug. 15, 2006, Tom Cotton’s platoon was patrolling the streets of Dora, a neighborhood in southern Baghdad, in the small hours of the morning. Riding shotgun in the second vehicle of his convoy, Cotton felt unusually secure. Combat engineers had cleared the streets of trash, which often obscured roadside bombs, and most people were indoors, in observance of the curfew. Looking out his window, Cotton saw a box in the road and thought, “That could hold a bomb.�Then it exploded.When the blast abated, Cotton’s Humvee was totaled, but his men were...

Mike Huckabee has been approached by Republican and conservative activists unhappy with the current crop of presidential hopefuls and he is considering entering the fray, two sources who have spoken with Huckabee told Reuters. The former Arkansas governor, who made a splash by winning the Iowa caucuses as a candidate in 2008, announced last May on his Fox News show that he would not enter the race. But the conservative Huckabee, who appeals to evangelical Christians and is seen as an effective campaigner, is taking another look at jumping in, said the two sources, who are close to Huckabee. They...

September 30, 2011 Huckabee: 'Happy With Decision' Not to Run for President Former Arkansas governor on reports he's been approached by Republican activists.

Clinton to dedicate pedestrian bridge at library LITTLE ROCK — Former President Bill Clinton is dedicating a $10.5 million pedestrian bridge and wetlands at his library in downtown Little Rock. The former two-term president is kicking off a weekend of events to mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of his presidential campaign with a dedication of the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge and the Bill Clark Wetlands located near his presidential library. The 2,653-foot walkway was converted from an 1899 railroad bridge and crosses the Arkansas River. It will open briefly to the public after Friday's dedication ceremony, but officially...

Thousands of Tea Party Patriots greeted Obama at his last fundraiser in St. Louis. We Will Meet Him Again. Tom Carnahan, brother of Robin and Russ Carnahan, was awarded $107 million of stimulus dollars for his Missouri windfarm. To show his appreciation, Carnahan will host a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for Obama next week. We’ll be there. Jim Hoft (The Gateway Pundit) leads St. Louis Tea Party Coalition as it joins Americans for Prosperity, United for Missouri, and other organizations on Tuesday, October 4 to protest Stimulus Waste. Yes, the President will be here. Date: Tuesday, October 4 Time: 5 p.m. to...

Mike Huckabee, the former presidential candidate and certified non-fan of Rick Perry, says the Texas governor isn't ready for the 2012 primetime. Perry's latest debate performance showed he is "not prepared for the pressure of the presidential stage yet," Huckabee said on Fox News Saturday. "Rick Perry's got a struggle ahead of him." Huckabee compared Perry to 2008 presidential candidate Fred Thompson, who entered the race late to huge anticipation and quickly ran out of steam. During that campaign, Huckabee sought Perry's endorsement, only to see his neighboring governor back Rudy Giuliani. The former Arkansas governor said Perry fumbled the...

Former President Bill Clinton suggested Thursday that Texas Gov. Rick Perry was ideologically in line with “militant subgroups in Israel” and was too willing to let the Jewish state do whatever it wants. Asked about Perry’s recent strongly pro-Israel comments, Clinton said the 2012 Republican hopeful’s stance was “good politics.” “Rick Perry — that’s my culture, you know? I’m from next door,” the Arkansas native said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “There’s an enormous reservoir of support for Israel in the Christian evangelical community, and a lot of them believe — as some of the more militant subgroups do — that...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — More than a half-century after federal troops escorted nine black students into an all-white school, efforts to desegregate Little Rock's classrooms are at another turning point. The state wants to end its long-running payments for desegregation programs, but three school districts that receive the money say they need it to continue key programs. And a federal judge has accused the schools of delaying desegregation so they can keep receiving an annual infusion of $70 million.

This is the horrific moment a 19-year-old girl was grabbed by a stranger, hours before she was found dead in the trunk of her car. Wendy Zapata Hernandez was abducted yesterday from the convenience store where she worked in Arkansas. A massive search was launched by police but her body was found hours later after the suspect was seized wandering the streets in his underwear. Cody Shane Griffin, 25, has been charged with murder. Miss Hernandez went to work at Selena's, a Dish TV Retailer, at 9am yesterday. Just minutes later a customer arrived and found the store empty, with...

Monday, September 12th at 12:00 Noon on the corner of Markham and Broadway The Chamber of Commerce is calling for a "Early Vote PRO 1 cent Sales Tax" Rally. The Arkansas Tea Party is asking you to make a sign Against Any New Tax and stand across from them. No shouting, No Chanting.....just to have our presence in opposition to a new tax!!! Rally against the Little Rock Sales Tax Monday September 12th! _________________________________________________________ We need people to cover polling sites with signs and flyers opposing urging people to vote NO (against) on the LR sales tax increases September 13th!...

Moore Funeral Chapel announces graveside services for Linda Fincher will be held today at 2:00 pm at Mineral Springs Cemetery in West Fork, AR (see sidebar graphic). Family, friends and colleagues of her husband, Hollis Wayne Fincher, incarcerated in minimum security prison on a gun possession charge (see links below), have been working behind the scenes to persuade the Bureau of Prisons to furlough him to attend the services. The latest word given to an aide to Rep. Steve Womack is that officials have no time or ability to respond this quickly, although a bit of hope was received yesterday...

Paul W. Davis shares some sad news: It is with great sorrow and regret that I must inform you of the passing of Linda Fincher, Wayne Fincher's wife. She passed away sometime early in the morning, the 28th of August at her home. At this time the cause of death is determined to be a seizure. She was alone at the time. Miss Linda had been suffering from seizures for some years now. I am requesting your prayers for the family, particularly for Wayne and the daughters, Connie and Carol Ann. It was ever Miss Linda's concern that she would...

(Sherwood, AR) -- A burglar is dead after being shot while breaking into a home in Sherwood. Sherwood Police say the man was confronted by an armed Arkansas State trooper who lived there and had been woken up by the sounds of the break-in. It happened around 11:15 in a neighborhood east of Highway 107 and north of Kiehl Avenue. It's not yet known if the trooper, who works the overnight shift, fired any other shots, or if the suspect had a weapon. Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley was on the scene shortly after the shooting. It is protocol...

SHERWOOD, AR – Officers from the Sherwood Police Department are on the scene of a home invasion where a burglar has been shot dead. Officer Josh Adams tells Fox16 that police responded to 1300 Maelstorm Circle where a burglar was shot dead by an off-duty Arkansas State Police Trooper in an attempted home invasion.

Jonesboro, Arkansas (CNN) -- Crazy. That is the word John Mark Byers, whose stepson Christopher was among three second-graders killed in West Memphis, Arkansas in May 1993, repeatedly used to describe Friday's release of three men convicted in the boys' murders from a Craighead County Courthouse in Jonesboro. It is a sentiment shared by Steven Branch Sr., whose son Steven also was slain -- but for entirely different reasons.